Release Date: January 14, 2014
One night, not long ago, singer Kevin Teirnan tweeted “Moving to Brooklyn.” Though he didn’t intend to be taken seriously, it was an act that would prove to be the impetus for five friends to begin a new chapter in their lives.
The guitar-driven, pop-punk rock band, Moving Brooklyn, releases its first EP, Intervals, in January, sharing a producer with powerhouses of the genre like Brand New, We Are In The Crowd, and My Chemical Romance. The energetic, six-track Intervals is a pop-punk revival that doesn’t stick out much from its counterparts, but is an enjoyable enough listen.
It follows a story similar to the band’s trajectory—a story of guys who are stuck in rut being called to action, and to grow up—but lacks variety when it gets down to telling that story musically.
The Connecticut fivesome debuted in 2012 at a Vans Warped Tour Battle of the Bands, and its subsequent win gave it a shot at cutting its teeth on the Hartford, Conn. tour date. The group, composed of Kevin Teirnan, Kris Kilgore, and Paul LaBosky on guitar; Antonio Mastroianni on drums; and Bill Laudenslager on bass, cites influences such as Taking Back Sunday, Northlane, and Spitalfield, and has a familiar pop-punk sound with boy band lyricism.
The surging opening track, “If I Ever,” is a poppy lamentation of a good relationship that went cold by November, and concludes with the shouted chorus, “I try and try to get you back/You shoot, shoot me down/And if I ever get you back, we’ll find a way out.” The repetition of this line serves as a decent hook, but it’s unlikely that listeners who are not already in the pop-punk camp will be shouting along.
“If I Ever” could have just as easily been done by One Direction, if anyone ever turned those Brits down for dates.
Regardless, anthemic repetition is a staple of the album. “I know exactly who I want to be/It’s not living; it’s just symmetry,” repeats throughout “Symmetry.” Moving Brooklyn stays true to its genre with fast rhythms, formulaic chord changes, and energetic breakdowns. The music is guitar heavy, but melodic, and doesn’t really shift tonally within the EP. All of the tracks are loud jams cut with guitar solos, with lyricism that lacks nuance and subtlety.
Intervals is pop-punk for Millennials in a post-2008 world, as opposed to a haven for angsty teens. It’s an exploration of finding direction in one’s life despite insurmountable odds, learning to grow up, shedding toxic relationships, and beginning anew. The album wraps with “Good Thing I’ve Learned,” a bitter track that indicates that some wisdom, or at least a thicker skin, has been gained on the journey.“Good thing I’ve learned to let it go,” Teirnan repeats.
Intervals is by no means a perfect album. While Moving Brooklyn demonstrates maturity, the band is definitely inspired by a slightly superficial, teen-aged sensibility reflected in its lyrics.
However, all of the tracks on Intervals are well produced. Each member’s talent and chops are evident, and their sound, especially between Mastroianni’s tight drumming and the guitars, is balanced. That being said, Moving Brooklyn could stand to hone in on its own sound. The album is familiar in its adherence to the tenants of preceding pop-punk rockers, but it’s almost too familiar.
The band’s perspective as young artists addressing the struggle to find direction in the face of today’s challenges sets it up to be more than just another all male, pop-punk band. They just have to prove that they are more. Ultimately, Moving Brooklyn is off to a solid start with Intervals, and its theme of moving forward and making progress is hopefully indicative of what is to come.
Moving Brooklyn – Intervals tracklist:
- “If I Ever”
- “Symmetry”
- “Divorce Rock Record”
- “Parlor Tricks”
- “Actors”
- “Good Thing I’ve Learned”
